Exclusive Resorts has just announced that its membership plans will all be increasing in price by $34 000, effective from August 01, 2007.

At Luxury Reporter, we suspect that at least some destination clubs don’t have business models that will translate into operating profits - those clubs are ‘betting the farm’ on increases in property prices, something that’s very likely but not a foregone conclusion.

We like to see a destination club with a sensible business model that allows for healthy profits on conservative growth projections. We believe that prospective members should want to see this, too - in the long run, businesses that lose money don’t keep operating. Original members of Tanner and Haley know this from painful experience, after the club burned cash in a variety of ways and eventually exceeded its ability to service its debt, going into administration and eventually having its assets purchased by Ultimate Resort.

Anyway, back to Exclusive Resorts - as one of the only clubs that should have achieved critical mass by now (that is, the club should be making money form operations), it’s not easy to tell whether this is a move that’s necessary from a profitability standpoint, or whether it’s an effort to build even wider margins and increase perceptions of exclusivity.

Either way, if you’re in the market for an Exclusive Resorts membership it would be a good idea to consider acting before the increase, or at least talking to their staff to secure current pricing should you decide to purchase later.

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